The Memory Charm
by pjsta
Summary: What would happen if Lockhart's memory charm hadn't backfired? What would happen to the Golden Trio then…? Rated T just in case. Please R&R!
1. 1 The Bait

**Summary: What would happen if Lockhart's memory charm hadn't backfired? What would happen to the Golden Trio then…?**

**A.N: First fan fiction is now up! So scary… Please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Anything you recognise belongs to the one and only JK Rowling.**

Chapter 1: The Bait.

I awoke to see a blond man's face looking down at me.

"Are you alright?" he asked, seemingly concerned.

"Who are you?" I asked, ignoring his question. "Who am I?" the man grinned.

"You, young man, are called Harry Potter. My name is Gilderoy Lockhart. Your Uncle Gilderoy. Don't you remember?" I shook my head.

"I don't remember anything, Uncle." I said truthfully. Uncle Gilderoy's smile seemed to get bigger. "Why are you smiling when I can't remember anything?" I demanded, annoyed. "And why haven't you let me get up yet?" This was true. My uncle hadn't let me up yet, although that should've been one of the first things he did. Was this how people in my family usually acted, or was it just Uncle G.? I hoped it was the latter, for my sake.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"The Chamber of Secrets. We came to find your friend Ron's sister, but you fainted at the sight of the snake skin. You hit your head pretty hard." I felt myself go red with embarrassment.

"I don't remember any of it. Where are my parents? And who's Ron?"

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed a red-headed boy I hadn't noticed until just now, "I'm Ron, Harry! Can't you even remember your own best mate?" I shook my head again. "And you won't find your parents, Harry," he continued, "they're dead."

"Since when?" I asked, shocked.

"Since we were about a year old." The boy called Ron replied.

"How long ago was that?"

"About eleven years ag-"

"_WHAT?_" I yelled in disbelief.

"You heard me." Ron continued, his voice sounding like he was trying to tell me quickly, "Now you live with your Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley."  
"Why don't I live with you, Uncle Gilderoy?" I asked, looking at him.

"Your mother, my sister, wanted our other sister, Petunia, to look after you if she died. She was always closer to her than me. I try to keep an eye out for you whilst you're at school, here at Hogwarts."

"I thought you said we're in the Chamber of Secrets?" I asked, confused.

"That's a part of Hogwarts. It's buried deep beneath the school. Come on, I'll take you back to the common room. Coming, Mr. Weasley?" Ron openly scowled at my uncle.

"No," he answered defiantly, "I'm going to find and save my sister, like YOU should be doing. It's your _job_ after all. Come on, Harry, you're coming too." Ron helped me up.

"I'll be back soon, Uncle," I told him, "then you can take me up to the common room." Uncle Gilderoy looked like he wanted to say something, but Ron said sharply, "Shut up if you know what's good for you." I couldn't _believe_ Ron could dare talk like that to my uncle. I was about to say so, when Ron shoved a stick into my hand.

"Take this," he said as he did so, "You'll probably need it."

"What do I need a stick for?" I asked.

"Just take it." Ron said, sounding annoyed. I took the stick. It felt comforting and familiar in my hand, but I wasn't sure why. Ron led me past the twenty-foot long snakeskin I hadn't even realised was there.

It wasn't long before we were out of earshot. I immediately turned on Ron.

"How could you say that to Uncle G.?" I demanded. "How _dare_ you say a thing like that!"

"He had it coming to him, Harry. Oh and he's not your uncle. Not even close."

"What?" I cried, "Yes he is! Of course he's my uncle, he said so!"

"Just because someone says something, it doesn't make it true, Harry." Ron sighed. There was a pause as I processed that. If I was honest with myself, there were times when I wondered if Uncle G. really was my uncle after all. I mean, helping me up was supposed to be one of the first things he did, wasn't it, not keep me lying on the floor. He'd also said that I'd got a nasty bump to the head, but I couldn't feel any bumps, nor did my head hurt at all. If I had hit my head, I should be feeling dizzy right now, shouldn't I? But I wasn't. I had just lost my memories. That was all. I just needed to get them back.

"Harry!" warned Ron, pulling back on my clothes. Just in time too. I had almost walked into what seemed to be a port-hole style door. It was made of thick, solid metal with snakes on.

"Be careful, Harry!" You don't want the doors to- I dunno, zap you or something!"

"Doors can do that?" I asked, surprised.

"You can never tell with Slytherin's stuff, especially when it comes to his descendents. They're all as bad as each other." Ron replied darkly.

"Well, how do we get through then?" I asked.

"Parseltongue, of course! Go on, say something!"

"What?"

"I dunno, anything, I suppose. Open, maybe? That's what you said upstairs in Myrtle's bathroom."

"Who's Myrtle?" I asked, "Why does she have her own bathroom if we're at a school?"

"She's a ghost, Harry. She hangs out there most of the time because it's where she died," Ron explained patiently. "By the way, it was your 'Uncle G.' who cast the memory charm on you."

"Memory charm? What memory charm?"

"The memory charm he placed on you to try to get out of saving my sister."  
"Why would he want to do that?" I asked, surprised.

"'Cos he's a bloody coward, that's why." Ron said grumpily, "He was trying to run away when we found him-"  
"Uncle G. was trying to run away?" I said, shocked, "But he would never do that!-"

"Well he was!" Ron snapped impatiently. "And now my sister could be dead! Open the door!"

I stared at the door. The snakes looked like their eyes were glowing. I could almost believe that they were real.

"_Open._" I said. It came out as a hiss. With metallic bangs, the snakes slid back and another snake slid around them. The door swung open.

We stepped through the door into a tunnel and at the end of the tunnel was a chamber in which the light was green.

"We must be under the lake!" Ron said quietly. "Come on, let's find Ginny."

As we walked from our end of the chamber to the other, a small figure slowly became visible. As we got close, I could see that it was a girl. She was small, with long red hair which was a similar colour to Ron's. We sped up until we were running and knelt by her side. She was stiff and cold.

"Ginny! Ginny, can you hear me? Ginny! Please wake up! Please!" Ron cried, shaking his sister.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure gliding out of the shadows. I nudged Ron uncertainly with my elbow. Ron looked up at my face as he cradled his sister's body in his arms.

"Ron, who's that?" Ron looked to the person gliding towards us.

"Who're you?" he yelled. "What do you want with my sister?"

The stranger laughed a high, cold, mirthless laugh and pointed at me. "Him." He said simply.

"I said what do you want with my sister, not what do you want!" Ron yelled, his voice echoing around the chamber. The guy stepped forwards into the light, making his dark hair shine. He was handsome, tall, and very, very pale.

"I am Tom Riddle," he said in his high, smooth and yet cold voice, "And your sister is my bait."

**A.N: So… what do you think? Good? Bad? Please let me know! No flames please, it's my first fan fiction! Second chapter will be up soon!**


	2. 2 Tom Riddle

**A.N: A massive THANKYOU to Wise girl16 for reviewing this story first, and a massive THANKYOU to those who put it on Story Alert!**

**Wise girl16: To answer your thought about Harry being able to make decisions easily: Harry always seems like someone who will follow his instincts, so that would enable him to make decisions easier.**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise is J.K Rowling's. Not mine. I don't own anything.**

Chapter 2: Tom Riddle.

Bait. Bait. Bait. Bait.

The word echoed around my head just as Ron's voice had echoed around the chamber. And while I may not remember Ron or his sister, I suddenly felt a fierce protectiveness over the tiny girl. This weird guy- what was his name…- Tom Riddle, was not going to _touch_ this young girl. He had to go through _me_ first. I decided my best chance to protect her at the moment would be to distract him.

"What do you want with me?" I asked.

"To talk. Then to kill you." He said, as though it was perfectly obvious. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

"Kill me?" I gasped, "Why would you want to kill _me_?"

Tom smirked. "Why would I _not_ want to kill you, Harry Potter?" he said silkily, "Why would I not want to kill the boy who survived my curse, all those years ago, with nothing but a scar on his forehead? Why would I not want to kill the boy who stopped my rise to power, who prevented wizarding dominance over muggles? And you ask why I want to kill you? I would've thought my reasons were obvious."

"But what does Ginny have anything to do with you wanting to kill Harry?" Ron demanded before I could ask any questions, "Why is my sister the bait?"

"Your sister was a fool," Riddle said cruelly, "she put too much of herself into my diary, into me, and she didn't even realise. She poured her heart out to me, every little bit. I was kind to her, gained her trust. True, she did try to get rid of me, but then who should come along but _you_, Harry Potter, the very boy I most wanted to meet. It was refreshing to find someone else writing in my diary. Your little Ginny was dull. Very dull. But also very useful. And even better, the little fool didn't know what she was doing." Ron's face was growing more and more horrified and more and more angry by the word.

"You still haven't answered my question!" growled Ron, who had evidently had enough of Riddle insulting his sister. "Why is Ginny the bait?"

Riddle smiled evilly. "Your little sister gave me some very useful information." He said silkily.

"Like what?" I demanded.

"Like how you risk your life to save others. And that tiny, harmless bit of information was enough for me to create a plan. So as the little fool poured her heart out into my diary, into me, I grew stronger and stronger. I convinced little Ginny to open the chamber, and set the Basilisk upon the filthy mudbloods that taint the school, and then, when she was too weak to cope with things on her own, I persuaded her to come down here and wait. She left a farewell message and did as I said; now here you are. Just as she said you would be. Well you're too late, little heroes; your precious little Ginny is almost dead. And once she is, I will no longer be a memory."

And he laughed. Tom Riddle _laughed_. It was horrible. It was cold, mirthless, and extremely frightening. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It even managed to give me goose bumps. Ron's mouth was hanging open in shock. He seemed to be struggling with his words.

"You bewitched my sister to do _that_? You- you- you _monster!_ What in Merlin's beard did you have to go and bewitch my sister like that for? Why Ginny?"

"Because, idiot," Riddle began impatiently, "she was the one who started talking to me!" Ron struggled with words again and Riddle cut across, "It was your precious little sister who caused all of your troubles this year. She's the one who set the Basilisk on the scum of the school."  
"Hang on," I said, "you just said you persuaded her to do that." I pointed out.

"It makes no difference whether it was she or I who let the Basilisk out. Either way, you will still be the first to die in the quest to purge all filthy mudbloods from the school. Salazar Slytherin's noble work shall finally be complete! There will be no more mudbloods, and the school will be far better off than it was before, will it not, Potter?"

I couldn't agree with him less. Partly because I had no idea what a mudblood was, partly because I didn't like him and _certainly_ didn't want to agree with him on anything, let alone something that sounded so horrible. So instead of agreeing, I shook my head.

"No." the colour rose rapidly in Riddle's cheeks.

"No? _No_? Have you got any idea who you're dealing with?" Riddle hissed dangerously. Slightly scared, I shook my head from side to side. Fast as lightning, he swept my stick from my hand and drew in mid air. Somehow, I knew that what he was drawing were letters and words. Somehow, I could read it. _Tom Marvolo Riddle_. He waved my stick in front of it and the letters moved around. Now it read _I am Lord Voldemort_. Ron gasped and paled his eyes round and massive and his mouth dropping open so it almost reached the floor. Silently, he hurriedly closed his mouth, but it fell open again.

"Lord Voldemort?" I asked confused, "What's the big deal with him?" Riddle's eyes grew hard and stony.

"Harry- it's _him_!" Ron hissed before Riddle could say anything. "He's You-Know-Who! The darkest wizard of all time!" I looked at Ron blankly. He sighed and continued,

"I still don't get what the big deal is with him." I said.

"Harry!" Ron groaned, "He's even worse than spiders!"

"Spiders? And they are…?"

"Creepy things with eight legs," Ron answered. He shuddered, then continued, "He killed your parents eleven years ago-"

"_You_ killed my parents!" I demanded, rounding on Riddle, furious. "_Why_?"

"They wouldn't join me." Riddle said simply. "Nor would they stand aside."

"Stand aside?" I asked, "What do you mean?"

"You were supposed to die that night in Godric's Hollow, Harry Potter," Riddle said softly. "You weren't supposed to survive. But no matter, no matter, I can kill you now!"

And with that, he turned his back to us. I hadn't noticed, but in front of us was a massive statue of a man's face and hair. Riddle held a pale, long fingered hand up in front of him and started speaking. Ron's face was clouded with confusion as though he couldn't understand what was being said. But I could.

_Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four_…

**A.N: So… Please review! It really makes my day! Chapter 3 will be up very soon- hopefully quicker than this chapter! No flames though please!**


	3. 3 Us vs the Snakes

**Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling. Still. So if you think I am you're mistaken: we look nothing alike.**

Chapter 3: Us vs. the Snakes.

_Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four_.

The mouth of the statue slid down. It opened wide, creating a large black hole of nothingness. My instincts told me that there was something in that hole, something dangerous.

"Ron," I began nervously, "Ron, there's something in there."

"I know, Harry! It's the Basilisk!" he replied impatiently. By an apparent sudden brainwave, he gently laid Ginny back down on the floor and tugged me behind a nearby snake-head pillar.

"What do we do?" I asked, "Can we fight it?"

"I don't know how! We need Dumbledore or Hermione…"

"Who?"

"Hermione's our best friend and the best in the year at everything. Dumbledore's our headmaster. The governors 'suspended' him, but he'll always be the true headmaster."

"How would he help?" I asked, "I mean, I understand he's the head, but would he be good enough?"

"Would he be good enough?" Ron said incredulously, "Harry, he was bloody brilliant at magic!"

"Then why was he suspended?" I asked as Ron carefully peered around the pillar. I heard a thump on the other side of the pillar.

"We've not got much time…" murmured Ron. "The Basilisk will be here any second." I peered around Ron and caught a glimpse of I gigantic snake listening as Riddle instructed it to kill us.

"I take it that's a Basilisk?" Ron gave a nod. "Ron," I said urgently, "why was Dumbledore suspended?"

"They thought he had 'lost his touch', but he's the best headmaster Hogwarts has ever had, _and_ You-Know-Who is scared of him."

"Really?" I asked surprised,

"Yeah," Ron said absently, "Hermione told us last year. It's coming towards us!" Ron brought his head back around to our side of the pillar, thinking hard. "We need a distraction… any ideas?"

"How about we split up?" That brought Ron up short.

"What?"

"You know," I said uncomfortably, "I go one way, you go another. It should confuse it, and it won't know which way to go." Ron stared at me for a second, then looked away, deep in concentration.

"That could work," he murmured, "where did you get that idea from?"

"I dunno… it just felt right…"

"What d'you mean?"

"It doesn't matter. Are we splitting or what?"

"Wait…" he murmured, "Oh and don't look at the snake otherwise it _will_ be able to kill you." I nodded to show that I understood. Ron gave a small smile and leant back against the pillar, listening hard.

"It's coming." He whispered. "On the count of three: one, two, _three_!" At this we both ran in opposite directions. I could only hope that Ron was getting away, and fast. Behind me, I heard the snake hiss in confusion. Then Riddle hissed: _Get the boy furthest from you! Ignore the other one!_ And I knew that Riddle meant me.

"Parseltongue won't save you, Potter! The Basilisk only answers to me!" Riddle called.

_Who said anything about using Parseltongue? _I thought. _What even IS Parseltongue anyway?_ I shook thoughts out of my head to stay focused on getting away from the snake.

I slipped on the stone floor and fell. The Basilisk hissed in anticipation and excitement, ready to kill me. I couldn't see. Something was wrong with my eyes. I spread my hands in front of me, looking for something- _anything_ that would enable me to see or know what was happening or where I was. My hands found something cold and oddly-shaped. It had two hooks and two shapes that felt like circles. I held the circular bits in front of my eyes. I could see through them! I found that I could put the hooks over my ears and that if the circles were over my eyes, I could see and wouldn't have to hold the circles to my eyes.

I glanced to my right side. There on the wall, I could see a shadow of the Basilisk. It was rearing up and about to strike. I watched as the head began to plummet down towards me. On instinct, I rolled in the direction I was looking, as fast as I could. The snake's hadn't anticipated it and bit into the floor, sending chunks of stone and dust everywhere. Again, on instinct, I curled up into a ball to protect myself from flying stone. Somewhere, far away from me, I heard Ron yell "HARRY!" I couldn't see a thing. I kept my eyes closed to protect them and my throat stung from the dust. I coughed and coughed, trying to get a breath of clean air.

After a couple of minutes, the stone stopped falling and the dust began to clear. Silence fell. It was the eerie kind of silence that clung to everything. Slowly, I sat up. I felt dizzy and slightly sick. Although it had cleared a bit, the dust around me was still difficult to see through. Still coughing, I got up and half-blindly tried to make my way through the dust and rubble towards Ron. But after a few steps, my path was blocked by a body. The Basilisk's. I hadn't realised it was so close! I didn't know if it was alive or dead so I skirted around it.

As I got further away, the dust became thinner. I was able to see quite clearly. I looked around, trying to orient myself. In front of me was the stone face, and there was Ginny, lying in front of it where Ron and I had left her. I ran over to her side and felt her forehead. She was as cold as the stone beneath me. I couldn't tell if she was dead.

I looked around. I couldn't see Ron or Tom Riddle anywhere. Over where I had come from was _still_ clouded with dust and rubble. Maybe he was over there?

"Ron?" I called, "Ron, where are you? Are you OK? Ron?" My voice echoed around the chamber. There was a scuffle somewhere behind me and I jumped. I turned, hoping to see Ron, but was met, instead with Riddle.

"She is almost dead, Harry Potter…" he whispered, "Soon I shall be alive once more…"

"You killed my sister?" yelled Ron, suddenly appearing. Ron charged at Riddle, yelling words that I couldn't understand as they clashed in echoes. Riddle pulled out my stick from inside his clothes and held it out. Ron froze. Riddle released him. Ron crumpled to the floor, shaking.

"RON!" I yelled.

"Oh, he's still alive, Potter. But if you don't co-operate he will be food for the Basilisk."

"The Basilisk's dead." I interrupted, suddenly sure.

"_What_?" Riddle's eyes flashed angrily.

"It's dead. It seems that Basilisks don't cope well with eating stone or bashing their heads against the floor. If you want to see for yourself, feel free. It's in the centre of all that dust." I said, pointing. Riddle rushed off into the dust. I looked back at Ginny. She lay with a small black book in her arms. Curious, I tugged it out of her arms and opened it. It was a diary. On the first page, I could make out _T.M. Riddle_. This was Riddle's diary then, the one Ginny had been writing in…

I gasped as I suddenly realised- Ginny had been writing in the diary! Riddle said she had poured her heart into it! Was there a way, perhaps, to _un_pour it, to reverse it? Riddle had been telling us for ages- that Ginny was almost dead and that once she was, he would be alive again. His life was tied to Ginny's! I hurried over to where Ron lay. Ron seemed to have recovered a bit. He wasn't shaking any more, but he still seemed weak.

"Ron!" I said, "Ron, can you hear me?" Ron nodded, rubbing his face against the floor. I showed him the diary. "Look! It's Riddle's diary!" Ron recoiled from it and glared at it.

"So?" he said grumpily.

"Riddle's been telling us all night that when Ginny dies-" here Ron flinched, "- then he'll be alive again! Is there a way to reverse it? To kill _him_ instead so Ginny can live?" Ron sat bolt upright.

"What?"

"It was just an idea," I said sheepishly. "Won't it work?"

"It's not that," he began, lying back down again, "We just don't have anything to destroy the diary with. We don't know the spells yet. Ginny tried to get rid of it in Myrtle's bathroom but then we found it and it was good as new." Ron thought hard, taking the diary. I felt slightly deflated. My plan wouldn't work unless we had something to destroy the diary with.

There was a sudden BANG! Both of us jumped and turned towards where the dust cloud had been. It wasn't there anymore, but Riddle and the Basilisk were. And the Basilisk was coming straight for us. We leapt to our feet, Ron a little unsteadily, but I held out an arm to help him.

"I thought you said it was dead?" Ron yelled as we sprinted away from it. Ron obviously felt better. When you're being chased by a giant snake, I guess you want to feel better pretty quickly.

"It _was_," I said, "Riddle must have brought it back."

"No one can bring back the dead Harry, even You-Know-Who." Ron told me as we ran past Ginny towards the stone statue.

Stone.

Basilisks don't mix with stone. I glanced back at Riddle. He was standing, perfectly calm, my stick pointed at the Basilisk. The Basilisk had been dead. I was sure of it. So how…?

"Ron!" I cried, "Riddle's controlling the snake! The Basilisk is dead but Riddle's making it move!"

"Well what do we do?" He suddenly stopped short.

"Ron! _Move_!" I cried. Ron started moving again.

"There's a deadly poison in the Basilisk, Harry! That's how we can kill Riddle!"

"Where would it be?"

"In the teeth! Venom's usually in teeth!"

"Ron, get it to bite into the statue!"

"WHAT? Have you gone completely mad?" Ron exclaimed.

"Maybe! But to get a tooth the mouth will need to be open! If he bites into the rock we can grab one!" Ron nodded as we finally reached the statue.

"Go back to Ginny. Take the diary with you!" he shoved it into my hands. "When I've got a tooth, I'll throw it to you. You catch it and stab the diary!"

"What about you?" I asked.

"I'll be fine. I'll roll out of the way or something. Now go!" with a push, I sped away and to Ginny's side. Apparently Riddle hadn't seen me run away from the statue or he would've sent the Basilisk after me, but the massive snake almost literally flew past me at Ron, who was bravely standing in front of the statue, waiting for the snake.

I reached Ginny and knelt beside her. A sudden BOOM! made me look up. The Basilisk had bitten into the stone.

"Harry!" Ron yelled, and threw something through the air. The tooth! I caught it in my right hand carefully so it wouldn't hurt me, opened the diary in the middle and stabbed, as hard as I could, right where the pages met. Behind me, I heard a terrible scream.

Shocked, I turned. Tom Riddle was standing in the middle of the chamber, twisting and writhing in agony. It was working! I stabbed the diary again, and watched as ink poured out of the diary. I heard footsteps and guessed they were Ron's. They were. He knelt beside me and he cradled his sisters' head in his lap. We watched as Riddle screamed and twisted, then suddenly he was gone.

Just like that.

**A.N: So did you enjoy it? Please review! Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be up soon!**


	4. 4 Lockhart's Flight

**A.N: Thank you so much to the person who put this on their story alerts!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise belongs to J K Rowling, not me. As always.**

Chapter 4: Lockhart's Flight.

Ginny gasped and moaned faintly. Slowly, she sat up and looked around.

"Ron? Harry?" she breathed. Ron immediately pulled her into a hug so tightly she complained. "Ow! That was my head, Ron!" But she hugged him back.

"Are you OK?" Ron asked her when he let go.

"I think so. Oh, Ron, it was me!" she cried, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks, "I t-tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but Percy came- but I d-didn't m-mean to, Riddle m-made me,"

"It's OK, Ginny, he told us-"

"W-what happened?" Ginny went on, ignoring Ron's comment. "T-the last thing I r-remember was Riddle coming out of the d-diary- where – w-where _is_ Riddle?" she said, her words all coming out at once.

"It's alright, Ginny, Riddle's gone. He can't control you anymore. It's alright." I told her.

"I'm g-going to b-be expelled, I know I am," she wept, "and I s-s-so want-ted to c-come here as w-well…"

Ron took hold of Ginny by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. "Ginny!" he said force fully, "You're not going to be expelled! Not when You-Know-Who _himself_ bewitched you! It wasn't your fault!" Ginny gave a nod, tears still running down her cheeks. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"What about the B-basilisk?" Ginny asked.

"That's been dealt with." Ron said firmly, "Now come _on_!" We got up and made our way down to the tunnel at the far end of the Chamber. "Harry!"

"Yes?"

"Don't forget your wand!"

I picked up the stick which now lay at my feet.

"Is _that_ what this thing is called then?" Ron nodded. Ginny gave a small laugh which subsided when she realised we weren't joking.

"What happened?"

"Lockhart cast a memory charm on him," Ron said shortly. "Now he doesn't remember anything."

"_Lockhart_ did _that_?" Ginny asked, astounded. Ron nodded grimly.

"He's a liar and a coward, Ginny."  
"How so?" asked Ginny and I together.

"Well he didn't do _anything_ he says he did in his books, he tried to run away instead of find you, Ginny, and he cast a memory charm on Harry to stop him from telling, and now Harry reckons Lockhart's his uncle."

"He told me! But now I don't really think he is."

"_Finally_!" cried Ron as we came out of the tunnel. "Took you long enough! What made you see the light?"

"He didn't come with us," I said, "but if he really _was_ my uncle then he would've done, to make sure I was safe, wouldn't he?" Ron nodded and grinned. "Will he be able to reverse the memory charm?"

"I don't know, Harry, I really don't."

"Well if he can't, you'll explain everything, won't you?"

"Of course," Ron agreed.

"Good. But what do I call my not-uncle now?"

"Call him Professor."

"Why?"

"Because everyone calls him that." Ginny answered simply. We reached my not-uncle.

"How do we get out?" Ron, Professor and I asked at the same time.

"I think there's a door over there," said Ginny, pointing. There was. Behind it were steps.

It was a long way to the top. At long last, we opened a door that led into a large room. It was nowhere _near_ as large as the Chamber of Secrets though. A white person was floating above them.

"You're alive," she said blankly to me.

"You're a ghost?" I asked before I could stop myself. The ghost seemed offended.

"I _was_ going to say that if you had died you could share my toilet, but if you're going to look at me and tell me what I already know, then I won't!" she yelled. Ron, Ginny and Professor quickly steered me out.

"That's Myrtle." Ron told me once we had left. "She's a bit sensitive about being dead and everything that comes with the fact that she's dead."

"Oh. Oops…" I looked down at my feet, slightly ashamed. "Where do we go now?" Ron hesitated.

"Let's go to McGonagall." He said at last.

Ron led us quickly through corridor after corridor. It seemed like a never-ending maze. We eventually came to a door.

"I hope she's here." He whispered.

"Well you don't seem to need me anymore, so I'll just-" as Professor tried to escape, Ron and I caught his arms.

"You're not going anywhere," I snarled. Professor looked shocked at my rudeness, but I didn't care. Not after he'd lied to me. Ginny knocked on the door three times. The door swung open and Ginny suddenly disappeared behind a plump, friendly looking woman with red hair.

"_Ginny_!" she cried. Ginny reappeared a few minutes later, looking slightly dishevelled.

"_Ron_!" the woman cried, and flung herself at Ron, who also promptly disappeared. After he reappeared, I found myself suddenly seeing nothing but the woman's dress as she cried, "_Harry_!" and hugged me tightly. When she released me, she said, "Oh thank _goodness_ you're safe! We were so worried!" She dragged Ginny into the room beyond. Ron and I followed, pulling Professor with us. Once in, we closed the door behind us. I looked around. Ginny was in the arms of a red-headed, balding man by the fire, tears streaking down her face again. On the other side of the fire, an old man with a very long, white beard was beaming and a strict-looking, thin woman was gasping and clutching her chest.

"You- you- _how_?" the strict-looking woman gasped.

"I think we all want to know that," said the old man, his eyes blue and twinkling. Unsure, I glanced at Ron. Ron put Riddle's diary on the desk opposite the fire, his back to the rest of us. Then he turned to face us, took a deep breath and began, slightly awkwardly. He told us about the voice that I had heard, but no one else, how the Hermione person he had mentioned earlier had realized it was a Basilisk, how we had followed spiders into the forest, met a giant spider called Aragog, who told us where the last Basilisk victim had died., how apparently I had realized that Myrtle was the victim and the entrance was in her bathroom.

"Is this true, Harry?" breathed the strict-looking woman, looking to me.

"I don't know." I said honestly, shrugging, "I don't remember anything."

"Why not?" she demanded. I shrunk at the stern tone of her voice, "This isn't the time to play games, Potter-"

"He isn't playing a game, Professor," both Ginny and Ron interrupted together. So the stern woman was called Professor as well, was she? I wondered. Ron continued, "Professor Lockhart cast a memory charm on him."

"That is a very serious accusation, Mr. Weasley," she said, shocked at Ron's boldness. "What will prove you are correct?"

"Priori Incantatem shows which spells were previously performed by a wand," the old man said, as if to remind the female Professor. "Gilderoy, your wand, please."

Looking slightly alarmed and scared, my not-uncle shuffled forwards, dragging his feet. He reluctantly handed the old man his wand, his head down so he wouldn't have to meet the old man's sharp blue eyes. The old man lifted his own wand and a grey shape drifted out of Professor's wand. I couldn't tell what it was. Then another shape drifted out of the wand, and another. I couldn't tell what shapes they were, but at the third shape, the old man's face grew stern.

"It's true." He said softly to the female Professor, who gasped. She opened her mouth angrily to speak, but Professor quickly swept his wand from the old man's grasp and fled.

**A.N: Did you expect THAT? Did you?**

**Well now we're almost at the end of the term! That means one more chapter! However it won't be out until sometime next week because I go away on music tour tomorrow (whoop whoop!). Sorry about that. But I'll put it up as soon as I can. Thank you for reading and PLEASE review! I would LOVE to know your thoughts on this chapter!**


	5. 5 The End of the 'Term'

**A.N: Hello! I'm back! Music tour was AMAZING!**

**I am SO sorry this chapter's late! I'm very sorry for not putting this up sooner! Hopefully the fact that this chapter is long will make up for it!**

**Thank you SO much to the person who put this on story alert! It was so nice to find a 'This person has put your story on story alert' email in a rare wifi-available moment!**

**Disclaimer: As always, anything or anyone you recognise is NOT mine. **

5. The End of the 'Term'.

"Coward! Coward!" the female Professor called after my not-uncle. A white beam of light shot out of her own wand (did _everyone_ here have a wand?) and out of the door. We heard a thump. The male Professor's unconscious body floated through the door, his head dangling on his chest. Ropes were wrapped around his body. He kept floating until he was dangling in the middle of them room.

"Shall I send an owl to the ministry, Albus?" the female professor asked the old man. The old man, Albus, nodded.

"But first we should hear the rest of the story, so we can give them the full story of what has happened. Please continue, Mr Weasley." Ron continued. He told Professor how we'd apparently gone to the not-uncle Professor with information about the chamber so he could use it to save Ginny but caught him trying to run away. Apparently we'd led him down to the chamber and when we reached the snakeskin he'd cast the memory charm on me.

"He told me he was my uncle," I said when Ron paused; "When I woke up he said he was my uncle. He and Ron told me what was going on and he wanted to take me to a common room. Ron wouldn't let him and we went further into the chamber to look for Ginny." I told the others how we'd found Ginny, fought the basilisk and used the diary to save Ginny.

"But what does the diary have anything to do with this?" the female Professor asked once I had finished.

"The diary was Tom Riddle's – You-Know-Who's," Ron explained. "He wrote it fifty years ago."

"But what has the diary got to do with Ginny?" the red-haired man asked. Ron glanced at me, and I saw slight panic in his eyes. He wanted to tell the adults what had happened in a way that would be truthful, that the adults would believe and that wouldn't get Ginny expelled. Instinctively, I looked at Albus. He seemed to understand and said,

"He enchanted her." Ron and I nodded, relieved.

"How?" Professor and the red-headed adults gasped.

"As you know," Albus said, "Some branches of magic are darker than others- the Dark Arts. There is one branch of Dark magic that enables a person to put a piece of their soul into an object. I will not go into it in detail now, as it is complicated and very confusing. This part of the soul can think for itself, and, if someone becomes too attached or dependent on it, can posses someone." He looked at Ginny. "Were there times when you don't remember how you ended up in places?" he asked kindly. Ginny nodded.

"Several," she said quietly, looking down at the floor.

"But- how- ?"

"Did the soul possess young Miss Weasley? Each object containing a piece of soul uses a different way. Seeing as the part of soul in question was in a diary, I believe you had to write in it, am I right?" Albus said. Ginny nodded.

"I thought it was a book someone had just left there and forgotten about. When I wrote in it, he wrote back."

"Ginny!" cried the red-haired man, "have I taught you nothing? _Never trust something if you can't see where it keeps its brain_!"

"Why don't you take Ginny along to the hospital wing, Arthur? She needs rest and perhaps a hot chocolate. I always find they cheer me up." Albus said. "Don't be ashamed of yourself, Miss Weasley," he added, "Many witches and wizards have also been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

Ginny nodded and asked timidly, "Won't I be expelled?"

"I should think not! You didn't ask for this to happen." Ginny smiled, relief obvious on her face and left the room with the red-haired adults.

Albus turned to the female Professor and said, "Minerva, please can you alert the Ministry as to what has happened? And also, I think all of this merits a good feast. Will you alert the kitchens?" The female Professor, Minerva, nodded.

"I'll let you deal with Potter and Weasley." She said. Ron and I glanced at each other.

What did she mean by 'deal with'?

"Now," Started Albus, "I seem to remember telling you both that if you broke any more school rules, then I would have to expel you."

"You _did_?" I gasped, as Ron's mouth dropped open in horror. "When?"

"At the start of the year. However, seeing as you have done the school a great favour, you will both receive special awards for services to the school and… let's see… two hundred house points each." Ron went pink and closed his mouth.

"Professor," began Ron after a pause, "is it possible to remove or reverse a memory charm?"

"Alas, no, or at least, I have never seen it done." Albus replied.

"Then what do I do about my memories? Do I have to live without them?" I asked.

"I'm afraid there is nothing to be done." He replied.

"But Sir!" cried Ron, "That's all of Harry's life! He doesn't know how to cast spells!"

"I can do _what_?" I asked. They ignored me.

"I see what you mean. Perhaps you should stay here for the first part of the holidays, Harry, and re-learn what you need." Albus mused. "I trust you and Miss Granger will help, Mr Weasley?" Ron nodded.

"You can count on us!"

"Re-learn _what_ though?"

"I would've thought that obvious, Harry." Said Albus surprised.

"Magic, of course!" Ron said, indignantly, rolling his eyes. OK. I'll admit that it _was_ obvious, but what with all the crazy stuff happening, I wasn't looking for obvious.

"Well, if that is all," Albus said, "I must draft an advertisement for the Daily Prophet. We need a new Defence Against The dark Arts teacher."  
"Professor Lockhart is going?" Ron asked, sounding thrilled.

"Of course! We can't let him stay; not after he's placed a memory charm on Harry! It wouldn't be right! No, next term there will be a new teacher. Mr Weasley, would you and Harry get yourselves cleaned up, and then go to the Great Hall for the feast. And if anyone asks you a question you don't know the answer to, Harry…" he lowered his voice, "pretend you didn't hear them." He winked.

"Erm… OK…" I said slowly.

"Off you go then! Remember: straight to bed after the feast. You both need your sleep." We nodded and left.

Ron led me through the maze of corridors until we reached a room like Myrtle's, but it wasn't Myrtle's. Her room was smaller. Anyway, Ron led me to a _something_. He turned something on the wall and water poured out. I jumped back, shocked. Ron chuckled at my face. I glared at him.

"It's alright, it's supposed to do that. It's a shower. You stand underneath the water with soap and wash yourself." Uncertainly, I moved forwards and held my hand under the water. I felt some on my hand. It was hot. I jerked my hand away.

"It's alright." Ron said again. He sighed when I backed away. "Look I'll show you how to take a shower." He showed me. When he came out, he wrapped a towel around himself and dried himself off.

"See?" he said, "It's quite easy." I tentatively did as Ron had showed me. I soon relaxed in the shower and even began quietly humming tunelessly. Ron rolled his eyes at that.

The feast was like nothing that I could remember seeing before, even after all the craziness of in the Chamber. Everyone was in comfortable-looking clothes quite different to what Ron, Ginny and I were wearing. Most of them were also half asleep. The feast was held in the Great Hall, a massive room with five tables. One table was at the end furthest from the door, the others in rows forming an aisle in the middle of the hall. The floor and walls were stone, but when you looked up, you saw the sky, not the ceiling.

At the start of the feast, 'food' appeared out of nowhere. The other people around me seemed to find this perfectly normal and didn't get a shock like I did. The food was delicious.

Part way through the feast, the huge doors at the far end of the hall opened and yet more people came in. One of them, a pale girl with bushy brown hair, ran towards Ron and me, yelling "You solved it! You solved it!" and hugged us both. The first thing Ron said to her was "Hermione! You're alright!" so I took this to mean that this mystery girl was Hermione. All through the feast, people were asking Ron and me questions about what had happened in the Chamber. Luckily, I could answer most of these. Those that I couldn't answer I got them to ask Ron instead. In spite of being able to answer a lot of the questions fired at me, I was glad to go to bed to avoid them.

The rest of what Ron and the others called a 'term' passed quickly. Ron, Ginny, Hermione, the teachers and I were the only people in the school who knew about the memory charm placed on me. Ron, Hermione and Ginny helped me in any way they could- showing me the way to classes, helping me with things they had learnt before we were in the Chamber. Our Defence Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled, so Hermione took it upon herself to find an empty classroom and she started teaching me what we had been doing last year. But soon, it was the end of the 'term', and she and Ron were going home.

"You'll write, won't you?" Hermione asked anxiously on the night before they were to go, "When you have the chance?" I nodded.

"Of course I will!" I told her, "But how do I get you the letter?"

"Haven't you been to see Hedwig, Harry?" I shook my head.

"Who's Hedwig?" Hermione checked her watch.

"Curfew's in fifteen minutes…" she murmured, then grabbed my wrist, "Come on, I'll show you." She led me quickly through the corridors to a tower in another part of the castle. Around the walls were perches, as though for birds. Half of them had birds sitting in them. They were owls. Hermione led up the stairs, obviously looking for one owl in particular. Eventually, she stopped and pointed to a snowy white owl.

"That's Hedwig." She told me.

"How does she carry letters?" I asked.

"You tie it to her leg with string. Not too tightly though, or she'll lose the feeling in her legs, but not too lose so it doesn't fall off during the journey. You just need to tell her who to take it to. You can hold her like this:" Hermione held out her arm and Hedwig flew and sat on her arm. Hedwig nibbled Hermione's ear. But it wasn't hard: it was more affectionately, fondly. Then Hedwig took off and soared out of the window into the night.

Hermione checked her watch.

"Come on, Harry, we need to go- curfews in a few minutes and we need to get back to the common room!" she cried. We ran through the school, through corridor after corridor after corridor. I didn't know _how_ I would find my way around without Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

We reached the common room entrance: a portrait of a fat woman in a pink silk dress. The others called her the Fat Lady. As Hermione and I approached, she called,

"You're late! Tut, tut, tut!" and when we were in front of her, she asked, "Password?"

" " Hermione said. The Fat Lady's portrait swung open and Hermione and I hurried through the hidden doorway. The talking pictures had given me a shock on the night I found myself in the Chamber of Secrets as well.

The next morning after breakfast, I accompanied Ron and Hermione to the station.

"You have our addresses, don't you?" Hermione asked, "You'll need to put that on the envelope with the letters in." I nodded.

"I have them Hermione, don't worry. And I won't forget to write." I said. Hermione hugged me.

"See you soon," she said, "good luck."

"See you in September, Harry!" Ron said. They hurried onto the train. I felt a tap on my shoulder from behind me. I turned around and saw Ginny.

"Goodbye, Harry," she said, blushing furiously, "Will you write in the summer?"

"Yeah, I will," I told her. "You have the same address as Ron, don't you?" she nodded, her face now the same colour as her hair. Then, as if she couldn't hold back any more, she hugged me. Then she hurried onto the train and disappeared from sight.

I watched as the train drew away from the station platform and I was left alone. I turned and headed back up to the school as the summer began.

**A.N.: Well there we have it! The end of the term! Thank you very much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Please feel free to review and tell me what you think! Also please look out for the sequel: Things I Don't Remember. Here's the summary…**

_**Sequel to THE MEMORY CHARM. Having spent most of the summer holiday at school apparently 're-learning' his first and second years, Harry feels like he is ready for anything the world of magic can throw at him. But he didn't expect the dementors to remind him of horrors from the past, horrors he can't even remember...**_

**Sound good? Yes? No? Maybe? Either way please look out for it! With luck it will be up soon!**

**Once again, thank you very much for reading and I am very sorry this chapter was late.**


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